Monday, 30 June 2014

Due to the influence of Justice Chalameshwar, presently a sitting Judge of the Supreme Court ( who is like a younger brother to me), I have developed some interest in South Indian (Carnatic) music. Justice Chalameshwar loves to hear, and indeed himself sings beautifully, Carnatic music.

I had no idea of Carnatic music before I met Justice Chalameshwar, who is from Andhra Pradesh. I had developed an interest in North Indian (Hindustani) music, and in fact attended the Prayag Sangeet Samiti in Allahabad for about two years when I was a student in Allahabad University. So I have some idea of Hindustani music.

At Justice Chalameshwar's house in Delhi I heard ( on his ipad) Jesudas singing a Carnatic music song in raag hindola ( which is called raag malkosh or malkauns in Hindustani music). I was simply enthralled by the music. Then I heard M.S. Subbalakshmi, Balmuralikrishna, Malladi brothers etc and was equally captivated. It was a new world for me, and now I am daily hearing Carnatic music on my ipad, which Justice Chalameshwar has kindly uploaded for me.

Carnatic music songs are composed largely in Telugu or Sanskrit, and very little in other south Indian languages. They are mostly devotional, sung in praise of some deity like Lord Shiva, Ganapati, etc The father of Carnatic music is regarded Purandar Das ( 1480-1564), but the Trinity of Carnatic Music are regarded three eminent composers and singers, Thyagaraja ( 1759-1847), Muthuswami Dikshitar ( 1776-1827), and Shyama Shastri ( 1762-1827).

In recent times M.S. Subbalakshmi ( 1916-2004), Balmuralikrishna, Malladi brothers, Jesudas, etc are great names in Carnatic music M.S. Subbalakshmi performed in the United Nations in 1966, and got a standing ovation after her performance. She also was awarded the Bharat Ratna.

A week long annual Carnatic music festival on the date of Thyagaraja's death (in January or February) is held in Thiruvaiyur, Thyagaraja's native place (near Tanjore). Many top Carnatic musuc exponents, and thousands of music lovers attend it. Thyagaraja's five important compositions are always sung in the festival.

The Madras Music academy in Chennai has played an important role as a world centre of Carnatic music.

Since I have just started learning something about Carnatic music my knowledge is not deep, and so I may be forgiven by people who know more of Carnatic music if I have made some mistake, or left out some vital features.

Sunday, 29 June 2014

In Pakistan recently a newly wedded couple, Muafia and Sajjad Ahmed, were tortured and then beheaded by the girl's father and other family members for marrying against the wishes of the girl's parents. A family member of Muafia told her that her parents had forgiven her,and in this way the couple were lured back to her parents house, but it was a trap. The couple were then tied up, tortured, and decapitated.

In India, too,in Western U.P., Haryana, etc many young couples are brutally murdered for marrying against the wishes of the parents. This 'honour killing' is a barbaric, heartless, cold blooded and savage feudal practice which must be put down with an iron hand by the authorities.

A bench of the Supreme Court consisting of myself and Justice Gyansudha Mishra held in Arumugam Servai vs. State of Tamilnadu (2011) that in such cases of 'honour killing' death sentence is mandatory, as it comes within the category of 'rarest of rare' cases. It was also held in that decision that 1) If the District Magistrate and S.S.P./S.P. and other officials of the district where the crime was committed were aware that the crime was about to take place and did not prevent it they should be immediately suspended and chargesheeted, and(2) If they came to know about the crime after it was committed and did not take effective steps to apprehend the culprits, criminal proceedings should be launched against them treating them as accomplices.

If the parents disapprove of their son's or daughter's marriage with someone the maximum they can do is to cut off social relations with the son/daughter. But they cannot threaten, beat, confine or kill him/her vide Lata Singh vs. State of U.P.(2006). If they do so they should be given harsh punishment

Although there are many Jainis in India, most people, including many Jainis, do not know about the philosophy of Jainism.

I was a student of philosophy in the Allahabad University, and was deeply impressed by the Jain philosophy. In a country of such diversity as India, Jainism is very relevant, as it promotes tolerance and secularism, which is absolutely essential if our country is to progress.The cornerstone of Jain philosophy is the concept of Anekantavad. This is defined as 'non-absoluteness', or 'non-onesidedness', or 'many-foldedness'.The Jain scriptures often explain this concept by the parable of the blind men and the elephant. Four blind men came to an elephant. The first felt the legs of the elephant and said that an elephant is like a pillar. The second felt its trunk, and said that an elephant is like a drainpipe. The third felt its ear, and said that an elephant is like a fan. The fourth felt its back, and said that an elephant is like a throne.None of them got to know the whole truth as they knew only one aspect of it.Jain philosophy is thus against dogmatism. It believes that reality is complex and multi-faceted.Anekantavad does not mean compromising or diluting one's own beliefs,principles or values. It allows us to understand and be tolerant of conflicting and opposing views, while respectfully maintaining the validity of one's own views. Anekantavad encourages its adherents to consider the views and beliefs of their rivals and opposing parties. Anekantavad also does not mean conceding that all arguments and views are true, but rather that logic and evidence determine which views are true, and as to which aspect, and to what extent. For this, Anekantavad relies on 'samayakva' which means rationality and logic, and 'syadvada' which means 'perhaps' or 'may be', i.e. 'in some ways' or ' from a particular perspective'.Democracy, freedom of speech and freedom of religion, tolerance, and secularism impliedly reflect the Jain philosophy of Anekantavad.In the Holy Quran it is stated " Unto you be your religion, and unto me be mine".The great Emperor Akbar had great respect for Jainism, and I have mentioned in some detail about his meetings and discussions with the Jain monks Hirvijaya Suri, Bhanuchandra Upadhyaya, and Vijaysen Suri in my judgment in Hinsa Virodhak Sangh vs. Mirzapur Moti Koreish Jamaat, from paragraph 51 onwards ( which can be seen online).Science also adopts a non-absolutist approach in understanding nature. Thus, at one time it was believed that light travels as waves ( Huygens theory), but Max Planck demonstrated that it travels in discrete particles called 'quanta' or packets of energy ( which is why it is called the Quantum Theory). J.J. Thompson's plum pudding model of the atom was disproved by Rutherford's famous gold foil experiment which showed that electrons were not embedded on the surface of the atom, but were instead existing outside the nucleus and revolving around it (like planets orbiting the sun). Quantum mechanics demonstrated that electrons, protons, etc can be conceived of as both particles and waves ( because they undergo diffraction, interference and polarization, which are characteristics of waves).Science is constantly developing, and hence no theory can be said to be absolutist or the last word on the topic. What was regarded true yesterday may be found untrue today. Ptolemy's theory (that our world was the centre of the Universe) was disproved by Copernicus' theory. Similarly, what is regarded true today may be found untrue by later scientific research. But whatever theory is advanced must be supported by logic and evidence ( which the Jain philosophy calls 'samyakva').

Saturday, 28 June 2014

Jinnah is called 'Qaid-e-Azam', ( leader of the People) by Pakistanis, who regard him as a hero.But what is the reality ?

It was Jinnah who relentlessly advocated the bogus two nation theory (that Hindus and Muslims are two separate nations) and the mischievous British policy of divide and rule which resulted in Partition of India in 1947 with all its horrors. (Please read Saadat Hasan Manto's stories about Partition in this connection).

It is estimated that as a result of Partition 5 lac Hindus and Muslims were killed and millions uprooted and driven out of their native places. Was he ever distressed by the terrible unhappiness which was caused as a direct result of his actions ? Not at all. All that he wanted was to satisfy his ambition to become Qaid-e-Azam and head of the fake, artificial country called Pakistan, which was the goal of the British whose loyal stooge he was, and the sole aim of creating which was to keep Hindus and Muslims fighting with each other.Gandhiji was deeply distressed by the Partition riots, and he went to Noakhali and other places where Hindus and Muslims had been killed and tried to bring about peace. But did Jinnah ever do that ? Not at all. He remained comfortably throughout this holocaust in his home. Should such a man who caused such misery and grief to millions be respected ?

My friend Mr. S.M.A. Kazmi, former Advocate General of U.P. has his sasural in Karachi. He was once returning on the Karachi to Delhi PIA flight when the air hostess came to him and said that the pilot wanted to meet him in the cockpit.

He was a bit surprised, but nevertheless he went with her to the cockpit. There the pilot and co-pilot welcomed him and offered him some coffee and snacks. They then told him that they were Muhajirs, and wanted to migrate to India, as they were not happy in Pakistan. They had seen from his passport that he was an advocate of Allahabad High Court, and wanted to know the legal formalities enabling them to migrate from Pakistan to India.

Now the interesting thing is that in fact both these young men were born in Pakistan and had lived all their lives in Pakistan. It was their parents who had migrated after Partition in 1947. Yet they were not happy in Pakistan, as muhajirs are often still treated as outsiders in Pakistan.

Many Muslims had migrated from India to Pakistan in 1947 thinking that Muslims could only feel at home in an Islamic state, but later regretted their decision. However , having given up their Indian nationality and acquired Pakistani nationality it was impossible to come back. A few could get a short time (one month or so) visa to India, and that too with many restrictions, e.g. that the visa was restricted to visiting a particular city in India only, that one had to report to the nearest police station once a week, etc

Many old Muslims (for the muhajirs who migrated had become old) came to India and lived with their relatives in Delhi, Lucknow, Allahabad, Kanpur, Bihar, Delhi, Punjab, Madhya Pradesh, etc. When they had to leave they wept bitterly.

The plight of the muhajirs living in Pakistan has been poignantly depicted in the long poem 'Muhajirnama' written by the eminent Urdu poet of India, Munawwar Rana. I am quoting a few couplets (shers) from the poem: